Automated check processing system with check imaging and accounting

ABSTRACT

A document processing system comprises an input receptacle for receiving documents. A transport mechanism receives the documents from the input receptacle and transports the documents past an image scanner and a discrimination unit. An output receptacle receives the documents from the transport mechanism after being transported past the image scanner and the discrimination unit. The image scanner obtains an image of the documents, obtains an image of a selected area of the documents, and obtains information contained in the selected area of the document. The discrimination unit determines the authenticity of the document. A system controller directs the flows of documents over the transport mechanism.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/042,675, filed Jan. 9, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 08/814,978, filed Mar. 11, 1997; which is acomplete application claiming the benefit of U.S. Application No.60/031,604, filed Nov. 27, 1996.

The '978 application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.No. 08/664,262, filed May 13, 1996, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.5,982,918.

This application is also a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/393,867 filed Mar. 20, 2003, which is a divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/059,813 filed Apr. 14, 1998, which is a completeapplication claiming the benefit of U.S. Application Nos. 60/043,516filed Apr. 14, 1997 and 60/053,606, filed Jul. 22, 1997.

The disclosures of each of the foregoing applications are incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to check processing systems and, moreparticularly, to check processing systems which receive a check, imagethe check, transmit the check image to an accounting system and adjustan account associated with the check.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention is a system for processing checkscomprising an image processing device that receives a paper check, scansthe received paper check to create a check image of at least one side ofthe paper check and obtains check information relating to the scannedpaper check. A communications link is provided over which the checkimage and obtained check information is communicated. An accountingsystem connected to the communications link is operable to update afinancial account associated with the paper check in response to theobtained and communicated check information.

Another embodiment of the invention is a check processing networkcomprising a plurality of check imaging devices, each such devicereceiving paper checks, scanning the received paper checks to createcheck images of at least one side of the paper checks and obtainingcheck information relating to the scanned paper checks. A financialinstitution accounting system operates to receive the check images andupdate financial accounts associated with the paper checks in responseto the obtained check information. A data communications networkinterconnects the plurality of check imaging devices and the financialinstitution accounting system.

Another embodiment is a method for processing checks comprisingscanning, at a first location, a paper check to create an electroniccheck image, truncating further processing of the paper check afterscanning, obtaining information relating to the scanned paper check;electronically transmitting the electronic image and obtained checkinformation to a second location; and reconciling at least one accountassociated with the paper check based on the electronically transmittedcheck information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image processing network;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of units which comprise the image processingnetwork;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an image processing system used incombination with a traditional document processing system;

FIGS. 4 a-4 c show topologies for the interconnection of remote capturedevices;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the remote capture unit;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the image processing system;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a document processing system with a singleoutput bin;

FIG. 8 a is a view of a document being scanned by the full image scannerin the wide dimension;

FIG. 8 b is a view of a document being scanned by the full image scannerin the narrow dimension;

FIGS. 9-10 are a diagrams of networks of image scanners;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the processing systemwith a video screen and keyboard;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the document processing system withmodules to insert smart cards, dispense smart cards, and insert opticalmedia;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the document processing system with dualoutput bins;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the document processing system without adiscrimination unit;

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart describing the operation of the documentprocessing system; and

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the full image scanner according toprinciples of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

By “documents” it is meant to include checks, deposit slips, paymentdocuments, savings withdrawal tickets, check deposit slips, savingsdeposit slips, and all other documents utilized as a proof of deposit atfinancial institutions. It is also meant by the term “documents” toinclude accounting invoices, debit forms, and account transfer forms.

By “accounting system” or “ outside accounting system,” it is meant toinclude the hardware and software associated with accessing,maintaining, tracking, and updating savings accounts, checking accounts,credit card accounts, business and commercial loans, consumer payments,and all other similar accounts at locations remotely located from thefull image scanners. The term includes three broad types of systems:systems where deposits are made; systems where withdrawals are made; andsystems where both deposits and withdrawals are made. Although theaccounting system described herein is described as being employed at afinancial institution such as a bank, it will be understood that anybusiness, public or private institution, or individual can employ anoutside accounting system to process transactions. By “financialinstitution,” it is meant to include savings and loans, investmenthouses, and all other types of financial institutions whether private,public, or government. The following description is in terms of banksbut it also includes all financial institutions as well.

Referring now to an image processing network as illustrated in FIG. 1,documents are scanned at a remote image capture unit 12. The remoteimage capture unit 12, as will be explained in greater detail below, ispreferably a low-cost scanning unit that obtains an image of both sidesof the document.

However, the remote image capture unit 12 may be a variety of machinesincluding a large multi-pocket scanner, a small table-top scanner, asingle document hand-fed scanner, and a hand-held scanner. For example,with reference to FIG. 2, the remote image capture unit 12 may bereplaced by a remote image capture network 7 which comprises a pluralityof remote image capture units.

The remote image capture network 7 includes a large multi-pocket scanner8 a. Using image sensors, the large multi-pocket scanner 8 a capturesimages of one or both sides of documents, converts the images to digitalsignals, and sends these signals to be processed either at other units(described below) within the remote image capture network 7 or at animage processing system 16.

The remote image capture network 7 further includes a small table-topscanner 8 b. In contrast to the large multi-pocket scanner 8 a, thesmall table-top scanning device 8 b is compact and can be convenientlylocated in the corner of a room or on a table top.

Also, the remote image capture network 7 includes a single documenthand-fed scanner 8 c. The single document scanner 8 c is preferably acompact device where the user feeds through documents one-at-a-time. Thesingle document scanner 8 c has the advantage of being less expensive topurchase than other scanning devices.

The remote image capture network 7 also includes an electronic documentcreation device 8 d. The electronic document creation device 8 dcomprises hardware and software which automatically creates an image ofa document, for example, a check. The document creation device alsopreferably contains a specialized printer that is capable of printingdocuments which utilize special paper or ink, for example, checks.

Additionally, the remote image creation network 7 also includes ahand-held scanner 8 e. The hand-held scanner 8e comprises a wand withwhich a user scans a document by moving a hand-held wand across thedocument. The wand is electrically coupled to a personal computer whichhas the necessary software to obtain and process the scanned image.

The above devices 8 a-8 e can be located as stand-alone units or as onecomponent in all types of teller systems such as a teller system 8 h ata window, in a vault system 8 g, an automatic teller machine (ATM) 8 i,a home banking system 8 j, a depositor cash management system 8 k or anight teller (not shown), or a lock box 8 l. Additionally, they may beconnected as a local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network(MAN), or wide area network (WAN).

The above devices are included as part of the vault system 8 g. Thevault system 8 g includes hardware and software which processes theamount and type of currency, documents, or coin entering or leaving avault. The vault system includes any of the devices described above suchas the large pocket scanner module, a table-top scanning device, asingle document scanner, an electronic document creation device, or ahand-held scanner.

The above devices are also included as part of the teller system 8 h.The teller system 8 h processes documents, coin, and currency at theteller window and maintains a record of all types of documents, currencyand coin transactions at the teller window. The teller system mayinclude any of the modules described above such as a table-top scanningdevice, a single document scanner, an electronic image document creationdevice, or a hand-held scanner. The teller system also has a videomonitor to view images of documents or currency obtained anywhere in theimage processing network or at the teller window.

The above image processing devices may be included in an automatedteller machine (ATM) 8 i. The ATM 8 i processes all types of depositsinvolving all types of documents, currency, and types of coin inreal-time from remote accounting systems and obtains full images of eachdocument and all currency processed. The ATM 8 i can also accept andtransfer funds to all types of magnetic media such as smart cards. TheATM 8 i also has a video monitor to view images of documents or currencyobtained anywhere in the image processing network.

The above devices are also connected as part of a home banking system 8j. The home banking system 8 j comprises hardware and software thatallows a customer to check account balances, obtain images of depositeddocuments, and create images of documents. The home banking system 8 jmay include any of the other modules described above such as a singledocument scanner, an electronic document creation device, or a hand-heldscanner. The home banking system 8 j also has a video monitor to viewimages of documents obtained anywhere in the image processing network.

The devices mentioned above are further connected as part of a depositorcash management system 8 k. The depositor cash management system 8 k mayinclude devices in one location or at several locations. The depositorcash management system 8 k includes hardware and software to obtainimages of documents, process these images, obtain transactioninformation, and perform any other functions associated with anaccounting system. The depositor cash management system 8 k may includeany of the other modules described above such as the large multi-pocketscanner module, a table-top scanning device, a single document scanner,an electronic document creation device, or a hand-held scanner. Thedepositor cash management system 8 k also has a video monitor ormonitors to view images of documents obtained anywhere in the imageprocessing network.

With reference again to FIG. 1, one function provided within the networkis proof-of-deposit processing. Proof-of-deposit processing ensures thatfor a given transaction, debits equal credits. As described below, PODprocessing, CAR/LAR processing, or any other type of processing canoccur at the remote unit or at a central location. Thus, images can betransported from any point in the network (including a central location)and processed at any other location in the network.

Shortly after the images are captured by the remote capture unit 12,they are transmitted to the proof of deposit area (within that unit orat a central location). It is important that the transaction be provedshortly after it occurs if the remote capture unit is at the tellerwindow, automatic teller machine or depositor site. Tellers or acustomer's clerical staff have access to all the images for thetransactions handled that day and can correct any errors occurring thatsame day.

The remote capture unit 12 preferably contains hardware and software todetect and process counterfeit documents. Each remote capture unitassembles a running total of non-counterfeit documents for a giventransaction, allowing a customer to know when a counterfeit has beendetected. Counterfeits are held and deducted from totals so customerscan know about that immediately.

Remote scanners can be placed at various locations, for example tellerwindows. Checks and other document images will be captured by theseremote image scanners. The images are forwarded to a central locationwhere proof-of-deposit processing occurs. Additionally, the financialinstitution could choose to process the image immediately at the centrallocation or the financial institution could store the images for aperiod of time in some kind of electronic reservoir for proof ofdepositing at a later time. Processing the images at a central locationhas the advantage of not slowing down service at the remote location.For example, central processing reduces lines and excessive waiting forbank customers.

Documents that cannot be read by the remote capture unit (“no-reads”)will be returned to the depositor. Alternatively, the remote imagecapture device can accept the document and display the image for a bankemployee to key in the amount. This could be done as the deposit isbeing entered into the automatic teller machine or later. The depositdoes not have to be proved while the depositor is at the automaticteller machine or the teller window. Since all of the items entered arestored as images, an account can be adjusted later. Alternatively, thecustomer may be prompted to enter the missing data. In this case theimage file may be tagged for later verification.

Documents whose images are captured at remote capture units located atlarge retail and commercial depositor's place of business will beprocessed as at a teller window. All items are sent to the bank, untilall banks are able to receive images. They would be processed on checkprocessing machines to separate the on-us items from transit items andto power encode the transit items.

It should be realized that the above imaging network can be used for allor part of a bank or financial institution's document processing needs.For example, some banks may choose to process only checks. Additionally,a bank might use this for on-us checks or for on-us checks of under$100. These checks would be scanned at the branch location or the ATMlocation. These low value checks would then be immediately destroyedbecause the bank could utilize the captured image. However, all on-uschecks in excess of $100 and all transit checks would be handled underthe current system. The bank will hold certain checks over a certainvalue for a longer period of time before destroying or returning thecheck. Thus, the present invention can be used in combination withcurrent physical document processing.

Referring now to FIG. 3, checks are fed through a remote capture unit 9a. The unit 9 a operates like the remote capture unit 12 of FIG. 1 asdescribed above and has plural output bins. The unit 9 a scans eachcheck and sorts the checks into the plural output bins based on whetherthe checks are going to be physically processed. As an example, thechecks may be sorted based on determined check amount. For example,checks greater than $100 may be placed in a first bin 9 d so thatfurther physical processing of the checks can be made. All other checksare placed in a second bin 9 e where they are later discarded (i.e.,they are not further physically processed). The images of selected ones(perhaps based on bin sort) or all of the checks are sent to an imageprocessing system 9 b which operates as described below. The checks fromthe first bin 9 d are physically transported to a traditional processingsystem 9 c where they are processed using a traditional bank documentprocessing system 9 c. Other documents entering the system may beprocessed by the traditional processing system 9 c.

The network of FIG. 1 can be configured to provide a combination ofdistributed and centralized image processing. That is, remote imagecapture units 12 may supply images to an image processing system 16 at aremote location (e.g., a bank branch) where image processing isaccomplished. Additionally, central processing locations may exist wherethe physical checks and/or images are processed as is known to thoseskilled in the art. As a specific example, a bank might have remoteunits located at various bank branches. At the same time, certaincustomers may continue to send their check images to a central locationfor processing. Additionally, certain customers may choose to sendchecks having a value over a predetermined amount, such as $100, to acentral location for processing.

The remote image capture unit 12 may accept physical documents from abank system 10 which does not process the images of documents. Thedocuments are moved to the remote image capture unit 12 where they areprocessed.

The remote image capture unit 12 provides either “raw” image data or animage file to the image processing system 16. Raw image data isunformatted data that is sent as a series a binary digits. Raw imagedata is transmitted from remote image capture units which lack thecapability to process the raw data into an image file. The raw data issent to the image processing system 16 where processing is accomplished,as described below.

The image processing system 16 also accepts image files from a remoteimage creation device 20. The remote image creation device 20 createsimages of documents. For example, the remote image creation device 20can create the image of a check. The remote image creation units usesoftware to create the image and prompt the user for information tocomplete the image such as the transaction amount and the payee.

The image processing system 16 also accepts inclearing items. Theinclearing image processing area accepts images in the format of thefile described above. The inclearing images comprise image filesassociated with “on-us” documents or, in addition, physical documents.In this way, the image processing system 16 is able to process bothimage files and physical documents. Additionally, if needed becauseother financial institutions can not process image files, transitdocuments are sent out of the image processing system 16 to otherfinancial institutions.

The remote image capture unit 12, after processing the documentsperforms a sort, separates documents and sends some documents tophysical storage 14. For example, if used by a bank, the remote imagecapture unit 12 will separate documents drawn on the financialinstitution (“on-us” documents) from documents drawn on other financialinstitutions (“transit” documents). In an alternate embodiment thedocuments are not separated but are destroyed.

The image processing system 16 accepts both raw image data and imagefiles. As will be explained in greater detail below, the imageprocessing system 16 sorts document image files into transit and on-usimage files, performs proof-of-depositing functions, forms cash lettersfor transmission, and routes the out-going transit image files.Additionally, it may power-encode physical documents (if needed) andacts as a conduit for inquiries throughout the system.

The image processing system 16 sends image files to an image storagedevice 18 where they are stored. The image storage device 18 may be anoptical storage device or a magnetic storage device, as is known in theart.

The storage device allows the system's owner (i.e., a bank) to make afull record of deposits. In other words, when the customer deposits thedocument, a full image picture of the front and back side of thedocument is deposited. This is advantageous at the teller window, and,in particular, when the remote capture device is an ATM which acceptsbulk deposits. Therefore, if a dispute arises at a later date relativeas to what was deposited into the ATM, there will be a full image recordof the complete deposit. The customer can then review each documentdeposited. Therefore, the bank and customer can easily re-reconcile thedeposit based upon the image record.

The image processing system 16 sends the data portion of the image fileto an accounting system 22. As described above, the accounting system 22includes the hardware and software associated with accessing,maintaining, tracking, and updating savings accounts, checking accounts,credit card accounts, business and commercial loans, consumer payments,and all other similar accounts at locations remotely located from theimage processing system 16.

A personal computer (PC) 24 is coupled to the accounting system 22 andthe image storage 18. The personal computer 24 contains softwareallowing the operator to make inquiries about a particular document. Theinquiry comprises data representing the document identification numberand the location within the network where the document is stored. Theinquiry can also be routed through the accounting system 22 and theimage processing system 16 and then through a security unit 26 onto adedicated line 37 a, an internet line 37 b, a private banknet line 37 c,a federal reserve network line 37 d or a clearing house network line 37e. From these lines, the inquiry is routed over the particular networkto the destination, as is known in the art. When received at thedestination, the request is routed to particular hardware or softwarewhere the inquiry is serviced, that is, the destination responds to therequest by answering that the entry was not found, that the user doesnot have access rights to the information, or with the image file (witha marking indicating that it was from an inquiry). Then, if the query issuccessful, the image data file is routed back (with the inquiry mark).It goes through security 26 and returns to the image processing system16. Since it is marked, it is routed to the outside accounting system 22and to the personal computer 24. At the personal computer 24, thecontents of the image file are displayed.

The image processing system 16 transmits and receives inquiries, thedata portion of the image file, and image files through the securityunit 26. From the security unit 26, the inquiries, data and image filescan traverse the dedicated line 37 a internet line 37 b, private banknetline 37 c, federal reserve network line 37 d and clearing house networkline 37 e. All of these lines are connected through security units 38,42, and 46 to other bank branches 40, the federal reserve system 44, andother financial institution processing 48.

The devices on the remote image processing network are preferablyconnected to form a LAN. The physical layout or topology of the LAN canvary. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4 a, a series of remote units11 a, 11 b, 11 c, and 11 d are connected to common bus 11 e. Bus 11 econnects the common bus to an interface 11 f which accesses othernetworks. The “remote units” may include any combination of largemulti-pocket scanners, small table top scanners, single documentscanners, electronic document creation devices, hand-held scanners,vault systems, teller systems, ATMs, home banking systems, or retailcash management systems. The bus-based network is inexpensive, reliable,and requires the least amount of cable for any LAN topology.

A LAN using a ring topology is illustrated in FIG. 4 b. Remote units 11a, 11 b, 11 c, and 11 d retransmit information to adjacent units usingpoint-to-point links. The units communicate with other networks throughan interface 11 f. Although more expensive than the bus topology, thering topology lends itself to being able to transmit over greaterdistances.

A LAN using a star topology is illustrated in FIG. 4 c where a centralremote unit 11 b is connected to all other remote units 11 a, 11 c, 11d, and 11 g. The central remote unit 11 b communicates to other networksthrough an interface 11 f. An advantage of the star topology is enhancednetwork management. Because all traffic passes the central unit 58,traffic monitoring is simple and detailed network reports are easy toproduce. Enhanced security is inherently a part of this type of topologysince the central unit can keep tables of user access rights as well asacceptable passwords. Also, the network can easily control who logs ontoany remote device present on the network.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that any combinationof the above topologies can be used to construct the network. Thus, anyof the units may be, themselves, networks of any topology.

Referring now to FIG. 5, with respect to the image capture unit 12, adocument 50 is scanned by an image extraction unit 62. Preferably twoheads are used to obtain full video images of both sides of thedocuments. However, the unit can have any number of heads and scan onlyone side of the document. Additionally, the document can be scanned ineither the wide or the narrow direction. The image extraction unit 62extracts portions of the image of the document for future processing.For example, in the case of a check, the image extraction unit 62extracts MICR data, courtesy amount (CAR) data, and legal amount field(LAR) data. The image extraction unit 62 may also be configured toextract other data in the case of currency or other types of documents.The image extraction unit 62 sends a “suspend” signal to deactivateitself in the case of overflow of documents. The suspend signal starts atimer which, upon time-out, allows the image extraction unit 62 toresume operations. However, if the overflow condition still exists, thenanother suspend signal will deactivate the image extraction unit 62.

When the image extraction unit 62 fails to identify the required data,then a “fail” signal is sent to a manual key unit 68. An operator at themanual key unit 68 is alerted and then views the image of the documenton a video terminal (not shown) and enters the missing data at themanual key unit 68.

The image extraction unit 62 sends the MICR data, CAR data, and LAR datato a balance unit 64. The purpose of the balancing unit 64 is to ensurethat the amount recorded as the total of a transaction matches theindividual amounts recorded. For example, a deposit may comprise tenchecks. The purpose of the balance unit 64 is to ensure that the amountsrecorded on a deposit slip as the total matches the total deposited asrecorded by the extraction unit 62. The balance unit 64 also createsimages of cash-in slips which are used to indicate the number of billsprocessed in a transaction. The cash-in and cash-out slips are createdautomatically as images and indicate the number of dollar bills handledboth in and out which are printed on these receipts. The bank storesimages of all documents and currency processed in every transaction.Thus, processing errors are easily detectable. Also, the stored imagesfacilitate convincing the depositor that the transaction, as correctedby the bank, is correct.

The MICR, CAR, and LAR data is sent to the form image file unit 66 wherean image file is formed. As mentioned above, the image file comprises animage portion and a data portion. The two portions are tied together bypointers which indicate the location and identity of the other portion.The image file is then sent to the image processing system.

In some networks, it will be necessary to sort “on-us” items and transititems, then send out (physically) the transit items. A sorter 60 sortson-us and transit items. The on-us documents are placed in an on-usdocument bin 54 while the transit documents are placed in a transit bin56. Alternately, any number of bins may be used. For example, the on-usitems may be sorted into on-us bins for checks, currency, coupons orother types of documents. The user takes the physical documents from thebin 54 and places them in physical storage area 52. The storage area maybe near the sorting unit or may be housed in a separate facility. Thetransit documents are transported via a transport mechanism to apower-encoder 58 where the MICR, CAR, and LAR data are power-encodedonto the document, as is known in the art. The power-encoded document isthen transported to the financial institution required. It should benoted that in an alternate embodiment, the system of FIG. 5 would bepaperless. In this case, the document transport mechanism 51 simplydiscards the documents; units 56 and 58 are omitted. In yet anotherembodiment the system would process some paper documents and unit 56would be omitted.

Turning now to FIG. 6, the image processing system 16 comprises an imagefile creation system 70 which accepts raw image data. The image data isprocessed as described with respect to the remote image capture unitabove. This image file creation system 70 is located at the imageprocessing system when the remote image capture unit 16 lacks thecapability for processing a document image.

An on-us and transit file sorter system 76 sorts on-us and transit imagefiles and physical documents. Both the on-us and transit image files aresent to a temporary storage unit 72 which stores the image files for ashort period of time, for example, until the end of the day. At the endof that time period, the temporary storage transmits these files to apermanent storage 18. The transit image files are sent to a cash letterformation unit 84. The physical transit items are encoded by a powerencode unit 78. The on-us physical items are imaged by the system 76 andtheir image files processed as described above. The sorter system 76sends both inclearing items and image files to a proof-of-depositprocessing system 82. Alternatively, MICR encode units may be located atremote units throughout the system.

The proof-of-deposit processing unit 82 determines whether documents andimages accepted are the same as the declared deposited amount. In otherwords, the unit determines that the documents declared as input aregoing out as an output. The proof-of-deposit processing unit 82 acceptsboth physical items (inclearing items including both on-us and transititems) and image items. The image items include image files from otherbanks, image files from remote capture units, and image files from theimage file creation system 70. Of course, in an image-only system thefunctionality of processing physical documents would not be present.

The data portion of the transit image files is sent to a power-encodeunit 78 where, if needed, the information is placed on the physicaldocument sent out as a transit item from a cash letter formation unit84. The power encode unit 78 can be omitted in a paperless network.

The transit image file and any transit documents are also sent to thecash letter formation unit 84 where the individual image files anddocuments having the same destination are bundled together into a singlepacket of data or physical packets. Outgoing transit file router 86 thentransmits the data to its correct destination. The router 86 adds data,as is known in the art, ensuring that the packet will reach itsdestination. In the case of physical documents, the documents are sentto the correct financial institution. Of course, in an entirelyimage-based network, the handling and processing of physical documentswould be omitted.

A inquiry processor 80 accepts inquires. The inquiry processordetermines whether the image file requested is in temporary storage 72.When found, the inquiry processor 80 determines whether accesspermission has been granted. If permission has been granted, the imagefile is sent over the correct lines to the output. The inquiry processoralso receives inquiries from the accounting system and routes them overthe inquiry line to the appropriate outside destination.

Reference is once again made to FIG. 1. Image files, the data portion ofimage file, and inquiries are transmitted to branches of the same bank40, the federal reserve system 44, or to outside financial institutions48. The data portion of the image file follows the traditionalsettlement path. That is, the data portion of the image file may firstgo to the federal reserve if two banks do not have a direct account.There, the moneys are transferred by an accounting system as describedabove. Alternately, banks may have special accounts between each other.This usually occurs when the banks have a large volume of transactions.Then, the image data files are sent to the banks directly.

Thus, financial institutions and the federal reserve system transferimage files, the data portion of image files, and inquiries overdedicated lines 37 a, which are connected directly between financialinstitutions. The above information can also be transmitted over theinternet 37 b as is known in the art. Also, the above data can betransmitted over a private bank-net which provides connections betweenthe various branches of a bank. Also, the above information can betransmitted over a federal reserve network line 37 d to banks in thefederal reserve system. Finally, the above data can be transmitted overa clearing house network line 37 e to a financial clearing house.

As an alternative, or in addition to the communication links describedabove, the image data may be stored on CD ROM (or any other type ofmagnetic or optical media) and physically transported to any point inthe system. In this way, data can also be viewed at points not coupledto the network.

It will accordingly be recognized that the image processing networkdescribed herein processes several types of physical and electronic dataunits.

First, it processes physical documents (for example, checks).

Second, it processes image files. The image file comprises threeportions. A first portion contains binary encoded data representing theimages of both sides of the document. Alternatively, this first portionmay contain only a portion or portions of the document. The secondportion of the image file contains data extracted from the images of thedocument. It is an important feature of the invention that allinformation in the second portion is obtained from the images. Forexample, MICR data is obtained from the image of the document ratherthan alternate extraction techniques such as magnetic reading. In thecase of a check, the second portion includes the MICR data, such as theamount of the check and the bank drawn. A third portion contains aunique identification code or tag associated with the document. Forexample, if the document is currency, the unique identifier may be aserial number, seal, plate number, or customer number.

For those documents where data fields are unreadable, the image can betransmitted to a central location where an operator would view the imageand key in the amount. Also, the operator keys in any non-readable MICRor CAR/LAR data. In the context of a bank imaging network, the bankwould choose between simply sending forward the captured image for finalsettlement or waiting for the physical document to arrive from theremote location. If the physical document arrives at the centrallocation, there would be a benefit from the imaging. The amount fieldwill already have been entered. Therefore, when the checks aretransported through the centralized check processing system, the on-uschecks immediately have the amount field MICR encoded. This represents asavings in time and labor over current systems which require one passfor MICR encoding and one for sorting checks into various output bins.

Alternatively, the customer may be prompted to enter unreadable data.Allowing a customer to enter missing data may be allowable for onlyselected customers of the financial institution. Alternatively, allcustomers may be allowed this option and the image file tagged for laterverification of the amount.

Similarly, being able to MICR encode on the first pass on transit checksreduces the number of passes through the scanner. Therefore, theproductivity and efficiency of the proof-of-deposit processing areincreased regardless of which methods are used (i.e., actual handling ofphysical documents or only image processing).

The image file data portion also includes the identities of banks wherethe image file has been processed. Both the data portion and the imageportion have tags uniquely identifying the document, and pointers towhere the other portion is located. The two portions are not necessarilyphysically contiguous. A security code is attached in both portions sothat the item can transit between banks or depositors and the bank.

Third, it manipulates the data portion of the image file. As explained,the entire image file need not be sent to all destinations in thenetwork.

Finally, it handles inquiries as to the images. The inquiry is datarepresenting the document number and will be correctly routed throughthe network until the document is found or permission to access thedocument is denied. Inquires are used by bank personnel or customers toview the image file of the document.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7 for a description of another embodimentfor the network. A user deposits documents into an input receptacle 116.A transport mechanism 118 transports the documents from the inputreceptacle 116 past an image scanner 112, as the documents areilluminated by a light (not shown). The image scanner 112 scans an image(for example, the full image) of the document, recognizes certain fieldswithin the document, and processes information contained within thesefields in the document. For example, the image scanner 112 may searchfor a number field when processing the document, determine the numberonce the field is located, and store the number for later use by thesystem. The system may also be used to capture any document image forelectronic document display, electronic document storage, electronicdocument transfer, electronic document recognition (such as check amountrecognition) or any other processing function that can be performedusing an electronic image.

Next, the transport mechanism 118 transports the document past adiscrimination and authentication unit 114. The discrimination andauthentication unit 114 authenticates the document. On documents such aschecks, the system may capture information such as the check amount,account number, bank number, or check number. The discrimination andauthentication unit 114 also directs the transport unit 118 to place thedocument in the output receptacle 120 as described below.

A dispensing unit 122 dispenses funds to a user. For example, when theuser makes a deposit into an account, the system has the capability toreturn all or part of the deposit back to the user in the form of bills,coins, or other media via the dispensing unit 122. The amount of paybackto the user may be supplemented by funds from other accounts, as well,as described below. The dispensing unit 122 is capable of accepting avariety of media including money orders, smart cards, and checks and mayinclude separate units directed to accepting a particular type of media.

A controller 110 manages the operation of the system. The controller 110directs the flow of documents from the input receptacle 116 through thetransport mechanism 118, past the image scanner 112 and thediscrimination and authentication unit 114, and into the outputreceptacle 120. The transport mechanism directs the documents throughthe system such that the documents are scanned either along their widedimension as shown in FIG. 8 a. Alternatively, the documents are passedthrough the system such that they are scanned along their narrowdimension as shown in FIG. 8 b. The controller 110 also directs thedispensing unit 122 to dispense funds to the user and routes informationfrom the full image scanner 112 and the discrimination andauthentication unit 114 to an interface 124 which communicates with anoutside accounting system or central office. The controller is alsocapable of directing information from the outside office through theinterface and to a communications panel 126. Finally, the controller 110selectively processes information from the image scanner 112 and thediscrimination and authentication unit 114 for use by the system.

Several image scanners 112 can be interconnected to form a local areanetwork (LAN). The individual image scanners 112 may be located atteller stations, in bank vaults, or at businesses, for example. In sucha network, some or all image processing is accomplished at the imagescanner and not at some centralized location. In other words, theprocessing functionality is “distributed” in such an arrangement. Theindividual LANs may have a different physical layouts or topologies.With reference once again to FIG. 4 a, image scanners 112 may compriseunits 11 a-11 d connected to common bus 11 e. Bus 11 e is coupled tointerface 11 f which communicates with an outside accounting system forperforming the functions described herein. In FIG. 4 b a LAN using aring topology is illustrated. Image scanners 112 comprise units 11 a-11d which retransmit information to adjacent scanners using point-to-pointlinks. The scanners communicate with other networks through interface 11f. In FIG. 4 c a LAN using a star topology is illustrated. A centralimage scanner 112 as unit 11 b is connected to image scanners 112 asunits 11 a, 11 c, 11 d and 11 g. The central full image scannercommunicates to other networks through an interface 11 f.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated another image processingnetwork embodiment. An outside accounting system 6036 communicates withfront end processor (FEP) 6038. The FEP 6038 is a software programmablecontroller that relieves the outside accounting system 6036 of manynetworking and data communications tasks. The FEP polls devices,performs error checking and recovery, character code translation, anddynamic buffer control. The FEP also serves as a data concentratorconcentrating several low speed transmissions into a steady, high-speedflow of data. Image scanners 6040, 6044, and 6046 (for example, scanners112) communicate with the FEP 6038 (and the outside accounting system6036) via cluster controller 6042. Cluster controller 6042 serves as aninterface between the outside accounting system 6036 and the scanners6040, 6044, and 6046. The image processing device 6036 has amaster/slave relationship with the scanners 6040, 6044, and 6046 andpolls, via FEP 6038, the devices and determines if they wish tocommunicate.

Another image processing network is described in connection with FIG.10. In this network, gateways are used to connect networks which havedifferent network architectures. Gateways use all seven layers of theOSI model and perform protocol conversion functions at the Applicationlayer. An outside accounting system 6148 is coupled to FEP 6150 a whichis connected to a token-ring interface coupler (TIC) gateway 6150 b. TICgateway 6150 b provides connections to token ring networks 6156, 6162,and 6164 which include other full image scanners.

The highest performance LAN gateway is the link between a token-ringnetwork 6156 and the image processing device's FEP 6150 a via the TICgateway 6150 b. The TIC 6150 b permits a 4 mbps or 16 mbps connectiondepending upon the hardware used. The TIC 6150 b is viewed by the hostas a cluster controller; the outside accounting system polls the TIC6150 b which in turn polls any units on the token-ring network 6156.

The network also contains a remote LAN gateway which functions as agateway to another token ring LAN 6162. For example, the gateway 6161functions as a cluster controller and communicates with the FEP usingIBM's SDLC protocol via synchronous modems 6154 and 6155 at both sites.The synchronous modems 6154 and 6155 can dial up the FEP at speeds up to64 kbps.

Remote X.25 LANs (which use the X.25 packet switching protocol andcontain full image scanners) can also communicate with the host via X.25gateways. A gateway 6151 with an adapter card functions as a clustercontroller and runs special gateway 6151 software that runs over a givenprotocol and communicates with the X.25 network. A local coaxial gateway6160 is also provided which allows a workstation on the LAN to emulate adistributed function terminal (DFT) mode of processing.

It should be realized that the units connected to particular gatewaysare in no way limited to use with a particular gateway. In fact, thegateways and units can be interchanged and other types of equipment canbe used to structure the network as is known to those skilled in theart.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11. The communication panel displaysinformation to the user and accepts user commands. The panel consists ofa video screen 150 onto which information to the user is displayed bythe system and a keyboard 152 for accepting commands from a user. Thecommunications panel video screen 150 can comprise a touch screen. Aslot 154 is used for receiving a user's identification card. The userinserts the card into the slot 154 to access the machine. The userdeposits documents into bin 156. Loose currency is dispensed from slot158, strapped currency from receptacle 160, and loose or rolled coin atreceptacle 162.

As shown in FIG. 12, other modules can be added to the system. A smartcard acceptance module 163 is provided for accepting smart card. A smartcard dispensing module 165 is provided for dispensing smart cards. Anoptical reader module 167 is also provided for accepting and dispensingoptical media.

An audio microphone 164 a and speaker 164 b allow two-way communicationbetween the user and a central office, for example, with a teller at abank's central office. Thus, during the operating hours of a financialinstitution, bank personnel are connected to the system by the audiomicrophone 164 a and speaker 164 b. The central office computer 115(which includes a video terminal) also receives and displays videoimages of the documents from the system. If the documents are notrecognizable, the image is forwarded to the bank employee forobservation on the terminal. The bank employee could then discuss thedocument with the customer. In this case, the bank employee could decideto accept the document immediately for credit after reviewing the imageon the terminal. With an image scan, enough information may have beenscanned on an unrecognizable document that review by the bank employeeon the terminal will enable the bank employee to accurately call thevalue of the document. Additionally, the image of a document may bepresented on a teller's monitor. By reviewing the data, the teller maybe able to enter missing data via their keyboard, if the image isrecognizable. If the teller is near the machine and an image on themonitor is unclear, the teller may remove the document from the scanner,inspect the document, and enter the missing data. The value could alsobe entered by the denomination keys and other information by aalphanumeric keypad, as described below, or with a mouse andapplications software. Additionally, the value could be entered by atouch screen device or by any combination of the input means describedabove. The document would then be placed in back of the outputreceptacle 120 and processing would continue. In some situations, thecustomer might enter the value or other information concerning theunidentified documents. This entry would be via the keyboard and creditwould be given to the customer's account only after the document isverified by bank personal. In other situations, the customer may merelyhold onto the document.

A mentioned previously, the system has a slot for the insertion of acustomer identification card. Alternatively, the customer might enter aPIN identification number through the keyboard. After identification ofthe customer is determined, then the customer submits a document (suchas a check or savings account withdrawal slip) and immediate payment tothe customer is made.

The output receptacle 120 can be a single bin as shown in FIG. 7 intowhich all documents transported by the transport mechanism 118 arestored. Alternatively, the output receptacle 120 can consist of multiplebins (two or more) as shown in FIG. 13. In the case of dual bins, onetype of documents (for example, identifiable documents, or certain valuedocuments, or certain handling documents) are placed into the first binand another type of documents (for example, unidentifiable documents, orother value documents, or other handling documents) are placed into thesecond bin. It will be understood that any number of output bins can beused to store the documents.

As shown in FIG. 14, the image scanner can be used without thediscrimination unit and one or more output receptacles.

The general operation of the automated document processing system isillustrated in FIG. 15. The user conducts a transaction at step 1510 a.During the transaction step 1510 a, the user places documents into theinput receptacle 116, the image scanner 112 scans an image of thedocuments, selected parts of the image are processed by the imagescanner 112, the discrimination and authentication unit 114authenticates the document, and the document is placed in the outputreceptacle 120. During the transaction step 1510 a, any interaction withpersonnel at a central office, for example, with a bank teller, occurs.As previously described, the system may also include a smart cardprocessing module, modules which accept and read all forms of magneticand optical media, and modules which dispense smart cards and all formsof optical and magnetic media.

An alarm condition may be generated during a transaction. At step 1510b, the system determines whether an alarm condition is present. If theanswer is affirmative, then at step 1510 c the system responds to thealarm condition. The response may be automatic or may require manualaction by the user. If the response is automatic, the system preferablyflashes a warning light, for example a 24 VAC external light driven by arelay. If the response required is manual, the user is required toperform some manual action and instructions of how to proceed may bedisplayed to the user on a user display screen, as described below.Alarm conditions occur when the user presses a help key; when a currencydispenser becomes empty; upon a system error condition; and when a binis full. If the answer to step 1510 b is negative or upon completion ofstep 1510 c, operation continues at step 1510 d.

After the alarm condition is tested or handled, the amount deposited inthe transaction is stored at step 1510 d for later use. The values arepreferably stored in a computer memory. Next, at step 1510 e, adistribution is made of the deposited amount stored in step 1510 d. Step1510 e can, for example, consist of receiving the deposited amount,allocating it to a savings account, or receiving part of the depositback in bills and crediting the remainder to a bank savings account. Atstep 1510 f, the user is given the choice of conducting a newtransaction. If the answer is affirmative, the system returns to step1510 a which is described above. If the user answers in the negative,then the machine stops.

An embodiment of the image scanner 112 is now described in detail. Inaccordance with the present invention, the image scanner may be of thetype disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,812 which is herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety. As shown in FIG. 16, the front and backsurfaces of the documents are scanned by scan heads 180 and 182 and theimages processed into video image data by electronic circuitry. The scanheads 180 and 182 are preferably charge coupled scanner arrays andgenerate a sequence of analog signals representing light and dark imagesdefining the image on the document. The scan heads 180 and 182 arearranged for simultaneously scanning both the front and back of thedocuments and are connected respectively to analog-to-digital converters184 and 186 which convert the analog values into discrete binary grayscale values of, for example, 256 gray scale levels. The scan heads arecapable of obtaining images of varying resolutions. The particularresolution chosen, which can be varied by the user, is selected basedupon the type of document being scanned, as is known in the art.

The high resolution gray scale image data from the analog-to-digitalconverters 184 and 186 is directed to an image data preprocessor 188 inwhich the data may be enhanced and smoothed and which serves to locatethe edges of successive documents and discard irrelevant data betweendocuments. If the documents are slightly skewed, the image preprocessor188 can also perform rotation on the image data to facilitate subsequentprocessing.

The image data is monitored for unacceptable image quality by imagequality unit 190. For example, the image quality unit 190 and monitorsthe distribution of gray scale values in the image data and create ahistogram. As is well known in the art, acceptable quality images have adistribution of gray scale values within certain prescribed limits. Ifthe gray scale distribution of the histogram falls outside these limits,this is indicative of poor image quality and an error condition isgenerated.

The image data is transmitted from the quality unit 190 to the imageprocessor 192. As is known in the art, the optical scanners canadditionally scan specified fields on the faces of the document. Forexample, when processing checks, the scan head may search for the “$”symbol as a coordinate to the left of the numeric check amount fieldbox. As is known in the art, a straight coordinate system or dimensionsystem is used where known dimensions of the box are used to locate thefield. The processor 192 can be programmed to locate fields for varioustypes of documents perform processing as follows. Based on scanningcertain areas on the document, the processor 192 first identifies thetype of document. Then, based on the outcome of the previous step,certain fields of interest are located, and the information stored foruse by the system. The processor 192 may also compresses the image data,as is known in the art, in preparation for transmission to an outsidelocation.

The amount of image data per document may vary depending upon the sizeand nature of the document and the efficiency of the data compressionand reduction for that particular document. To ensure that no data islost in the event that the volume of image data may temporally exceedthe transfer capacity of the high speed data channel, a prechannelbuffer 194 interposed prior to the data channel, which is connected tothe controller 110. The capacity of the pre-channel buffer 194 iscontinually monitored by the controller 110 so that appropriate actionmay be taken if the buffer becomes overloaded. The compressed videoimage data is received by the controller 110 over a high-speed datachannel 196 and is initially routed to temporary storage. The imagebuffer is preferably of a size capable of storing the image data from atleast several batches or runs of checks or similar documents. Thecontroller 110 in the full image scanner performs the functions ofanalyzing the data. Alternatively, as discussed above, analysis of thedata can occur at the central office computer 115 or at a personalcomputer 111 attached to the system.

A plurality of document processing systems may be connected in a “huband spokes” network architecture as is known in the art. In order toprevent congestion, the image buffer on each document processing systemstores data until polled by the central office computer or outsideaccounting system. When polled, the data is uploaded to the centraloffice computer or accounting system.

Other scanning modules and methods can be used in place or in additionto the particular one described above. These include CCD arrav systems,multi-cell arrays and other well-known scanning techniques. Examples ofthese techniques and devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,782;U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,158; U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,750; and U.S. Pat. No.4,205,780 all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.The scanning module can also be a color image scanner such as the typedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,292 which is incorporated by referencein its entirety.

The discrimination and authentication unit may take on any one of anumber of suitable forms. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,164,the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, whichteaches discrimination and authentication techniques and processesrelating to currency bills in particular but which may be extended tothe processing of other documents including checks.

In general, such discrimination and authentication units include more ormore scanheads (for example, optical scanheads) that scans forcharacteristic information from a scanned document which can be used toidentify the document type. One scanning technique directs a beam ofcoherent light onto the transport path so as to illuminate asubstantially rectangular light strip upon a document positioned on thetransport path below the scanhead. Light reflected off the illuminatedstrip is sensed by a photodetector positioned directly above the strip.The photodetector output signal is converted into a digital signal forprocessing. Other scanhead types include magnetic, optical, electricalconductivity, and capacitive sensors. The output signal provides ananalog representation of measured characteristic variation (for example,reflected light). This variation serves as a measure for distinguishingand authenticating the document. For example, the variations canrepresent a characteristic pattern that is fairly unique for a givendocument provides sufficient distinguishing features among manycharacteristic patterns for different types of documents. An example ofthis process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,196. The processor isprogrammed to identify the document as corresponding to a set of storedintensity signal samples for which the correlation number resulting frompattern comparison is found to be the highest.

Two-sided scanning of documents may also be used.

In addition to scanned characteristic patterns, color may also be usedto discriminate documents. Such color sensing may be achieved by, forexample, incorporating color filters, colored light sources, and/ordichroic beamsplitters.

With respect to magnetic detection, the unit may be capable of readingand identifying all types of magnetic ink (such as “low dispersion”magnetic inks as used on checks; where “low dispersion” magnetic ink ismagnetic ink mixed with color ink and used to print the background ofchecks as well as the name and address information on the check).Magnetic sample and variation data may be mathematically manipulated tosimplify its use by summing data points to yield a checksum that iscompared to expected values for genuine documents.

With respect to magnetic sensing, a variety of characteristics can bemeasured. These include detection of patterns of changes in magneticflux (U.S. Pat. No. 3,280,974), patterns of vertical grid lines (U.S.Pat. No. 3,870,629), the presence of a security thread (U.S. Pat. No.5,151,607), total amount of magnetizable material (U.S. Pat. No.4,617,458), patterns from sensing the strength of magnetic fields (U.S.Pat. No. 4,593,184), and other patterns and counts from scanningdifferent portions of the document (U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,473).

With regard to optical sensing, a variety of characteristics can bemeasured such as detection of density (U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,447), color(U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,490,846; 3,496,370; 3,480,785), length and thickness(U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,651), the presence of a security thread (U.S. Pat.No. 5,151,607) and holes (U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,447), and other patternsof reflectance and transmission (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,496,370; 3,679,314;3,870,629; 4,179,685). Color detection techniques may employ colorfilters, colored lamps, and/or dichroic beamsplitters (U.S. Pat. Nos.4,841,358; 4,658,289; 4,716,456; 4,825,246, 4,992,860 and EP 325,364).An optical sensing system using ultraviolet light is described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,640,463.

In addition to magnetic and optical sensing, other techniques ofdetecting characteristic information include electrical conductivitysensing, capacitive sensing (U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,754 [watermark,security thread]; U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,899 [thickness]; U.S. Pat. No.3,815,021 [dielectric properties]; U.S. Pat. No 5,151,607 [securitythread]), and mechanical sensing (U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,447 [limpness];U.S. Pat No 4,255,651 [thickness]).

When checks are utilized in a transaction, the check is tagged with thecustomer checking account number, the bank number, and the FederalReserve Region. If multiple banks are involved in the payment, eachbank's number is tagged to the payment through an endorsement on theback of the check. Using the networks and systems described herein,tagging of the checks can be made electronically. In other words, thecustomer checking account number, bank number, and Federal Reserveregion are electronically tagged to the check's image.

The accounting system processes information associated with checkingaccounts. The systems and networks described herein process checks andchecking account-related documents by scanning an image thereof at anumber of locations including the teller line, a drive -up window, anATM. With the scanning and imaging of the check, the check need not betransmitted to a central location for processing. The accounting systemmaintains a record of all transactions regarding the checking account,balances, and tracks information associated with a particular check.

Again, documents can be immediately be scanned at point of entry withouttransporting the document to a central location. Information extractedfrom the imaged documents is sent to the accounting system where it isstored, monitored, and analyzed. The accounting system compilesstatistics on customers and their accounts and maintains currentbalances, interest earnings, available funds, available advances, andrecords all information concerning deposits and withdrawals.

The accounting system also distributes funds between various accounts.The accounting system can make a withdrawal from an account to pay aninvoice (such as a mortgage). To accomplish this, a customer may issue acheck for payment and submit this against a coupon or invoice providedto the customer. The coupon and the check are processed by the systemsand networks described herein to obtain document images. The informationis read by the image scanner and transmitted to the accounting systemwhich conducts the required transfers. Notably, a bank employee can runthe check and coupon through the image scanner at any banklocation—branch, central offices, payment center, etc. The documentwould not have to be forwarded to a centralized proof department forhandling.

Another important service provided by the accounting system for businessaccounts is cash management. This can be provided by lock box serviceswhere a company has its customer payments directed to a bank “lock box.”This lock box address is at a bank location and all customer payments tothe company are diverted to this lock box address. This ensures that thepayments are deposited as quickly as possible so that the bank'scommercial customers have immediate use of the funds at the bank. Thenext day the outside accounting system at the bank advises the businesswhich payments were received into the account and the business adjustsits accounts receivables balance one day later, creating a timingproblem due to the delay.

The systems and networks described herein enable a business to scan thedocuments through the scanner at the business's location (thus,eliminating the need to first send payments to a bank lock box location)and receive immediate credit electronically through the accountingsystem located at the bank. The check images and other images wouldimmediately be available via the accounting system at the bank forsettlement purposes. Therefore, lock box services by banks are handledon a de-centralized basis at bank customer locations.

With the systems and networks described herein transactions involvingchecks are processed substantially immediately. That is, accountadjustments are processed in real time rather than waiting for the endof the day. Also, images of all documents can be stored on mass storagedevices at the central office. The images could also be stored at theunit itself, or at another remote system. The images could also betemporarily stored and forwarded at a later time.

In one embodiment, documents are transported, scanned, and identified ata rate in excess of 800 documents per minute. In another embodiment,documents are transported, scanned, and identified at a rate in excessof 1000 documents per minute.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by wayof example in the drawings and herein described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention tothe particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A system for processing checks, comprising: an image processingdevice that receives a paper check, scans the received paper check tocreate a check image of at least one side of the paper check and obtainscheck information relating to the scanned paper check; a communicationslink over which the check image and obtained check information iscommunicated; and an accounting system connected to the communicationslink and operable to update a financial account associated with thepaper check in response to the obtained and communicated checkinformation.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the image processingdevice optically recognizes fields within the scanned paper check so asto extract field data as the check information relating to the papercheck.
 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sorting mechanismfor sorting the paper check into a bin that is designated for truncationof further processing of the paper check.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the image processing device scans the received paper check onboth sides to create the check image.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereinthe accounting system stores check images.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein updating the financial account comprises debiting or creditingthe account.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the check image iselectronically tagged with the check information relating to the papercheck.
 8. The system of claim 7 wherein the check information comprisesat least one of a customer checking account number, bank number, federalreserve region, and a financial institution involved in payment of thepaper check.
 9. The system of claim 1 further comprising means forsorting the images of checks into images relating to “on-us” checks and“transit” checks.
 10. The system of claim 1 further comprising a sortingmechanism to physically sort the paper checks into checks for which forwhich reconciliation of at least one account associated with the papercheck is made based on the communicated check information and checks forwhich reconciliation of at least one account associated with the papercheck is made based on the paper check.
 11. The system of claim 1further comprising means for sorting the images of checks into differentimage categories.
 12. A method for check processing, comprising:receiving a paper check; scanning the received paper check to create acheck image of at least one side of the paper check; obtaining checkinformation relating to the scanned paper check; communicating the checkimage and obtained check information; and updating a financial accountassociated with the paper check in response to the communicated checkinformation.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining comprisesoptically recognizing fields within the scanned paper check so as toextract field data as the check information relating to the paper check.14. The method of claim 12, further comprising sorting the paper checkinto a location that is designated for truncation of further processingof the paper check.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein scanningcomprises scanning the received paper check on both sides to create thecheck image.
 16. The method of claim 12, further including storingcommunicated check images.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein updatingthe financial account comprises debiting or crediting the account. 18.The method of claim 12, further including electronically tagging thecheck image with the check information relating to the paper check. 19.The method of claim 18 wherein the check information comprises at leastone of a customer checking account number, bank number, federal reserveregion, and a financial institution involved in payment of the papercheck.
 20. The method of claim 12 further comprising truncating furtherprocessing of the paper check following scanning of the paper check. 21.The method of claim 12 further sorting the images of checks into imagesrelating to “on-us” checks and “transit” checks.
 22. The method of claim12 further comprising physically sorting the paper checks into checksfor which for which reconciliation of at least one account associatedwith the paper check is made based on the communicated check informationand checks for which reconciliation of at least one account associatedwith the paper check is made based on the paper check.
 23. The method ofclaim 12 further comprising means for sorting the images of checks intodifferent image categories.
 24. A check processing network, comprising:a plurality of check imaging devices, each such device receiving paperchecks, scanning the received paper checks to create check images of atleast one side of the paper checks and obtaining check informationrelating to the scanned paper checks; a financial institution accountingsystem operating to receive the check images and update financialaccounts associated with the paper checks in response to the obtainedcheck information; and a data communications network interconnecting theplurality of check imaging devices and the financial institutionaccounting system.
 25. The network of claim 24 further including amemory associated with the accounting system for storing the checkimages.
 26. The network of claim 24 wherein the data communicationsnetwork is a local area network (LAN).
 27. The network of claim 26wherein the LAN utilizes a common bus architecture.
 28. The network ofclaim 26 wherein the LAN utilizes a ring topology.
 29. The network ofclaim 26 wherein the LAN utilizes a star topology.
 30. The network ofclaim 24 further including a cluster controller for interfacing theplurality of check imaging devices and the financial institutionaccounting system through the data communications network.
 31. Thenetwork of claim 24 wherein the check information comprises check value.32. The network of claim 24, wherein updating the financial accountscomprises debiting or crediting the accounts.
 33. The network of claim24, wherein each of the check imaging devices operates to electronicallytag the check image with the check information relating to the papercheck.
 34. The network of claim 33 wherein the check informationcomprises information selected from the group consisting of check value,bank identification information, and checking account number.
 35. Thenetwork of claim 24, further comprising a sorting mechanism for sortingthe paper checks into a bin that is designated for truncation of furtherprocessing of the paper checks.
 36. The network of claim 24 wherein thecheck information comprises check value, bank identificationinformation, and checking account number.
 37. The network of claim 24wherein the data communications network comprises the Internet.
 38. Thenetwork of claim 24 further comprising means for sorting the images ofchecks into images relating to “on-us” checks and “transit” checks. 39.The network of claim 24 further comprising a sorting mechanism tophysically sort the paper checks into checks for which for whichreconciliation of at least one account associated with the paper checkis made based on communicated check information and checks for whichreconciliation of at least one account associated with the paper checkis made based on the paper check.
 40. The network of claim 24 furthercomprising means for sorting the images of checks into different imagecategories.
 41. A method for processing checks, comprising: scanning, ata first location, a paper check to create an electronic check image;truncating further processing of the paper check after scanning;obtaining information relating to the scanned paper check;electronically transmitting the electronic image and obtained checkinformation to a second location; and reconciling at least one accountassociated with the paper check based on the electronically transmittedcheck information.
 42. The method of claim 41 wherein the checkinformation comprises check amount.
 43. The method of claim 41 whereinthe check information comprises bank identification information.
 44. Themethod of claim 41 wherein the check information comprises accountnumber.
 45. The method of claim 41 further including electronicallystoring the electronic image and obtained check information.
 46. Themethod of claim 41 further comprising sorting the electronic images ofchecks into images relating to “on-us” checks and “transit” checks. 47.The method of claim 41 further comprising physically sorting the paperchecks into checks for which for which reconciliation of at least oneaccount associated with the paper check is made based on theelectronically transmitted check information and checks for whichreconciliation of at least one account associated with the paper checkis made based on the paper check.
 48. The method of claim 41 furthercomprising sorting the electronic images of checks into different imagecategories.